September 2 – October 9, 2010

Dongguan Highways Hot Pink

TIMOTHY SICILIANO

Opening: September 2, 6-8 pm

Catherine Person Gallery celebrates our fifth anniversary with a

solo exhibition by Seattle artist Timothy Siciliano.

Siciliano’s paintings in acrylic gouache are populated with an intense array

of carnival characters, some dressed, some not, including self-portraits of the

artist in the nude along with giraffes, rabbits, octopus and kangaroos in play along a

network of highways that run through a surreal landscape of temples, shrines and

factories. Pop surrealism collides with pop culture and drab freeways contrast

with wild dream-like figures in hot pinks and red, neon orange and electric blue.

Completing the show is sculpture painted with figurative imagery and handmade

Chinese hanging lanterns in hot pink. Siciliano's created a fabulous day-glo environment.

Siciliano’s psychedelic muse is Dongguan, an industrial district in Guangdong province

due east of Hong Kong. He’s visited the region a number of times during the past decade,

working with the factories who produce his exclusive designs for major clients including

MoMa NYC, Sony Plaza Japan, The Chicago Art Institute  and Urban Outfitters.

Siciliano writes, 'Dongguan Highways Hot Pink is a new body of work of paintings

on paper and mixed media sculptures. They depict a hallucinatory landscape of industry and

decadence while traveling across the endless freeways on my many visits to Guangdong

province, in southern China. It is the “Heart of Darkness” of the new industrial age. 

Hundreds of thousands of factories line the freeways burning the eyes and senses. 

Through this smoky haze psychotic visions of human & animal sacrifice, freeway altars and

alien deities create a glitzy carnival of dehumanization. It is the “Wild West” of the new century.’

In 1992 Siciliano became a NEA Fellow for his work on paper and he became a Lannan

Foundation grant recipient in 1995. The King County Arts Commission, the Washington

State Arts Commission and the Seattle Arts Commission have awarded Siciliano contracts

for his sculpture. The City of Seattle, City of Issaquah and Washington State have his work

in their collections as does the Smithsonian Institution.

'Dongguan Highway Hot Pink, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 50"x38"

$3,200 framed, Timothy Siciliano © 2009

Xintai Highway Sunset Explosion, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 38"x50", $3,200 framed

Timothy Siciliano © 2010

Qingxi County Shock Tactic, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 30"x22",

$1,800 framed, Timothy Siciliano © 2010

Shock Tactic A88 Chang'an Town, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 30"x22",

$1,800 framed, Timothy Siciliano © 2010

Bendee Double Injection Industrial Sign, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 30"x22"

$1,800 famed, Timothy Siciliano © 2010

Bonggong Industrial Dancers, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 22"x30", $1,800 famed, Timothy Siciliano © 2010

Bendee Polyfilm Plastic Moon Temple, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 30"x22"

$1,800 framed, Timothy Siciliano © 2010

Swinging Shrine Nancheng District Road, Acrylic Gouache on Paper, 30"x22"

$1,800 framed, Timothy Siciliano © 2010